Once the marketing strategies have been decided upon, it is time to put them into the real life through devising appropriate and relevant Marketing Mix tactics.
Marketing Mix tactics are the short-term, sometimes day-to-day, operational decisions. They are adopted to keep the marketing objectives and marketing strategies on target and to move from one milestone to another in pursuit of their overall goals.
Marketing Mix tactics evolve around products, their prices, places of distribution and promotion methods.
In a business organization, the general corporate strategy is developed by The Board of Directors (BOD). And, tactics by individual department heads for implementation by more junior employees.
The 4 Ps of the Marketing Mix
The traditional Marketing Mix comprised of the 4Ps was created by Edmund Jerome McCarthy in 1960s.
The combination of various elements such as Product, Price, Promotion and Place (Distribution) is important and necessary for marketing product successfully. It is in fact the basis for developing and implementing marketing strategies. Without all the four elements, no marketing plans can work properly.
Let’s take a look at the 4Ps in details:
- PRODUCT. The good or service that fulfills needs and wants of customers.
- PRICE. The specific amount of money customers pays to buy the product.
- PROMOTION. The methods of communicating to the customers about the product’s existence – informing, reminding and persuading them to buy the product.
- PLACE (DISTRIBUTION). The distribution channels to move the product from the producer to the customer(s). Also, the place where customer buy the product.
Marketing Mix Tactics in details
Tactical planning is the day-to-day decision-making that is operational. In other words, it is how you put the strategy into action. The overall strategy of a soccer team may be to prevent the other team from scoring. The tactics are how individual members of the team play to create the desired result.
Here is an example of a brief marketing plan focused on tactics for a new tennis racquet. The proposed name for the tennis racquet is ‘ProIAm’. It is supposed to create an image of being suitable for the professional tennis player as well as the keen amateur.
(P) Product tactics
Start with a short summary of your existing products, any planned changes to the existing products, additions to the product range and any new products. The development of the new products should be explained backed up by market research. The key features of the product need to be explained. Branding and packaging should also be described in details.
- Describe the appearance and packaging of the product.
- What is the purpose and use for the product?
- Who is the target customer?
The product is a tennis racquet which is made of a new light, hard-wearing material.
The design is new and is claimed to allow the player to make the tennis ball go even faster than present tennis racquets. The performance of the player should be improved and this is the brand image that will need to be created through promotion.
A logo or symbol which is associated with this brand of tennis racquet will need to be designed so that it will be easily recognizable on the racquet face.
It is likely to be purchased by people who are very skilled at tennis, the keen amateur, in addition to professional tennis players. A labelled drawing of the product could be included in the marketing plan.
(P) Price tactics
The pricing decision needs to be made and the reasons behind setting the particular price must be justified. If the product is to be sold in many markets, the product may need to have more than one price. The business needs to consider the cost of making the product, Price Elasticity of Demand (PED), prices charged by competitors, the current stage of the economy, etc.
- What price will be charged for the product?
- Is the price higher or lower than the price of similar products?
The tennis racquet is made of a new material and is, therefore, a new development which should mean that price skimming as a pricing strategy could be adopted. The new product offers the possibility of an improved performance and will mean that players will be willing to pay a higher price. Competitive pricing will not be necessary owing to the uniqueness of the new product. Therefore, a high price, well above that of the competing brands of tennis racquets, will be charged for the new product.
(P) Promotion tactics
The business needs to decide about the purpose of promotion either inform about the product, persuade the customer to buy the product or remind that the product is still available for purchase. Promotion decisions evolve around four major areas including: advertising, sales promotion, Public Relations (PR) and personal selling. The timescale of all promotion activities will depend on the marketing budget available. The promotion campaign may need to be repeated several times.
- Why is the company promoting the product?
- Where and how will the product be advertised?
- Will you use different types of sales promotion?
- Will your packaging have promotions on it?
The main form of advertising will need to include a famous tennis player, probably one of the top three tennis players in the world. The brand image has to be one of being a quality product and by using a professional tennis player it will attach their success to the product.
The advertising media to use will not be television or newspapers as these are expensive and will be seen by many people who will not be potential customers, thus a wasted of money. It will be advertised in specialist tennis magazines and at the point of sale, for example, sports shops and shops at tennis clubs. Promotion in the form of paying a top tennis player to use the tennis racquet will be the best form of advertising as this will be seen by tennis fans all over the world when the player is in tournaments.
(P) Place (distribution) tactics
Distribution includes all of the activities to move the product to the consumer from the producer. One or multiple channels of distribution can be used. The firm also needs to decide about the outlets (shops) where the physical product will be available for purchase.
- Where will the product be sold?
- What channels of distribution will be used?
The tennis racquet will be sold only through specialist sports shops. This is to emphasize the high quality of the product. The channel of distribution used will be direct from the manufacturer to the retailer to the customer. It is an expensive product which will need to be sold by people who can provide technical information about the product and therefore specialist shops will be used. The manufacturer will want to have some control over the information that is given out about the product and therefore it will sell through shops where it has confidence in the ability of the sales staff to be able to give our accurate information about the new technical qualities of the racquet.
Linking Marketing Objectives, Marketing Strategies and Marketing Tactics
While the 4Ps of the Marketing Mix are not independent from one another, but interdependent. Marketing objectives, marketing strategies and marking tactics are also connected.
Example 1: Increasing market share
Marketing Objective: Increase market share by 15%.
Marketing Strategy: Mass Marketing to a wide market in countries across all continents.
Marketing Tactics: One standardized product at low price (penetration pricing). TV advertising.
Example 2: Increasing profit margin
Marketing Objective: Maintain prestige image with new products, but increase profit margin to 40%.
Marketing Strategy: Niche marketing to selected target markets in developed countries only.
Marketing Tactics: High-quality product at high price (price skimming). Direct selling.
In summary, the 4Ps of the Marketing Mix must be fully integrated (linked with each other) to prove the marketing tactics to be effective in principle. Only in this way, the appropriate and relevant Marketing Mix allows marketing strategies to fulfill the overall marketing objectives.
